When school starts this week, kids at Willow Crest Elementary will be hard-pressed to top one of their teachers when it comes to sharing "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" stories.

Debbie Cropper, who teaches gifted students at the school, cruised to her third straight women's victory in the Humpy's Marathon with an effort -- 3 hours, 14 minutes, 9 seconds -- that put her ahead of all but six men in Sunday's 26.2-mile race.

And that's just the beginning of Cropper's tale.

The marathon was her seventh since February, and her first since racing three in June. The 48-year-old, who didn't start racing till she was 34, is aiming to run a marathon in each of the 50 states before she turns 50 in two years. She's at 30 and counting and if her schedule goes as plans, by the end of October she will have added New Mexico, Maine and Connecticut to her list of been-there-done-thats.

"And knowing me, I'll be looking for one in November," Cropper said.

But wait. There's more.

As she travels from state to state, Cropper is always on the lookout for ways to teach and inspire grade-schoolers. When she ran the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., earlier this summer, she visited the city's Lake Superior Maritime Museum and soaked up all sorts of knowledge about the Great Lakes and their ports. She's turning it into a study unit for her students.

She probably won't tell the students about her achievements -- how she schooled the competition on Sunday (the next fastest woman, Jamie Wood, trailed Cropper by 12 minutes), how she won the Kentucky Derby Marathon in April, how she set a personal-best of 3:10:30 February in Alabama.

But Cropper will draw from her racing resume to teach her kids some of the things marathon running has taught her.

"I teach endurance and perseverance and belief in yourself," Cropper said. "And I do it through the marathon. I use little Nike signs that say 'Just Do It.' I bring my medals in and teach the difference between bragging and being proud of yourself."

The winner of the men's marathon knows something about perseverance.

Vin Robinson, a two-time runner-up at Humpy's, captured the victory that eluded him, clocking a 2:56:14. He edged Joe Buckentine of St. Cloud, Minn., by 62 seconds.

"Third time's the charm," Robinson said with a grin as he held his 2-year-old son Noah.

An engineer for Enstar, Robinson was racing his first marathon since the 2008 Boston Marathon, where he cramped up at 23 miles and dropped out.

"It took me some time to recover mentally," he said.

By Sunday the disappointment of Boston was well behind him and Robinson was gunning to beat his previous-best marathon time of 2:56.38, recorded at the 2007 Mayor's Marathon.

He got the PR -- and the win.

"Oh man, it's awesome. I was shooting for a PR today more than anything. I was expecting someone like Jerry Ross to show up (and win)," he said of last year's champ, who didn't run Sunday.

In 2006, Robinson was winning the race until Dietrich Hildebrant passed him in the final few miles to claim victory by almost four minutes. This time no one emerged to steal away the title, although Robinson spent some time worrying about Buckentine.

"I slowed way down by Mile 19," he said. "I was trying to hang on from 19 on in. I got a glimpse of him by Tikishla Park (four miles from the finish) and I was hoping he was slowing down too."

Buckentine, 46, couldn't close the gap, giving Alaska's Swift Family Robinson another champion to celebrate. Robinson is the younger brother of Harlow Robinson, one of the state's most successful mountain runners who is a past champ of the Crow Pass Crossing and the reigning champ of the Government Peak Challenge.

The marathon was one of three races that make up the Big Wild Life Runs, an Anchorage Running Club event that takes its name from Anchorage's marketing slogan. Besides the marathon, there's a half-marathon and a 5-kilometer run.

A record crowd showed up -- 1,530 individual finishers, plus 37 four-person relay teams. Half-marathon titles went to Daniel Knappmiller (1:16:46) and Gretchen Flora (1:27:24), both of Anchorage, and 5-K titles went to Jason Potsander of Anchorage (18:58) and Amanda Scott of Virginia Beach, Va. (19:26, which placed her third overall).

Numerous out-of-state runners competed, including some on the same quest as Cropper -- to run a marathon in each of the 50 states.

Nancy Stuparich of Miami Beach, Fla., came to Anchorage so she could cross off Alaska from her list, and though her stay her was brief -- about 24 hours -- she raved about it.

"I want to do 50 before I'm 50 and I have about 40," said Stuparich, 48. "I've been all over the United States getting my 40, and this has been one of the friendliest marathons I've ever been to. I'm going to promote this race like you wouldn't believe."

Stuparich was particularly impressed by the PeopleMover, the city bus system that is forever fighting for funding.

"I got in last night at 2:30 and I caught the 3:15 PeopleMover -- which was on time," she said.

She stayed at an inexpensive downtown hotel within walking distance of the start/finish line -- she found a deal online -- and took the bus back to the airport to catch a 7:30 p.m. flight home Sunday.

"I've been through hell getting to some races," Stuparich said. "This is very do-able. $54 for a hotel, $4 for transportation -- you can't beat that."

The race, held mostly on bike trails, started and finished in front of Humpy's and took command of several downtown streets for the morning and part of the afternoon.

Cropper said she was buoyed by the runners, volunteers and spectators who turned Sixth Avenue into a scene akin to a street fair. The boost was appreciated, she said, because as she ticked off the miles, her legs started feeling like they'd already run half a dozen marathons this year -- which, in fact, they had.

"I was very, very tired today," Cropper said. "I definitely can feel the fact I just raced three marathons in June, because I don't run them, I race them."

Cropper is a goal-oriented person, so she'll continue this torrid pace until she checks off all 50 states. She manages all the travel by using airline miles, sticking to a budget, even sleeping in a car if necessary. Plus, she's good enough to have won some cash prizes at races -- $1,000 here, $500 there.

"There's no value to put on what I'm doing. It's worth every penny," said Cropper, who says marathon running transformed her life. It has let her build friendships all over the country and it provides her with material for her classroom.

"The marathon is very emotional to me," Cropper said. "Life's a marathon, and you can take help along the way -- like water at the aid stations -- and finish strong."

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4309.

Big Wild Life Runs

Top 25

Humpy's Marathon (26.2 miles)

Women -- 1) Debbie Cropper 3:12:14; 2) Jamie Wood 3:24:23; 3) Laura Frink 3:29:01; 4) Stephanie McShane 3:29:24; 5) Deb Thomford 3:29:25; 6) Amy Satter 3:35:19; 7) Bekki Manville 3:35:34; 8) Karen Looney 3:46:51; 9) Casey Luicart 3:47:28; 10) Sarah Haltness 3:48:33; 11) Jodi Rogness 3:48:55; 12) Holly Barclay 3:50:13; 13) Rachel Goldstein 3:51:04; 14) Kathleen Dolan 3:51:07; 15) Krystal Muller-Stub 3:54:57; 16) Diana Burbank 3:56:06; 17) Michele Peterson 3:56:32; 18) Jenny Hoeger 3:56:42; 19) Laura Skladzinski 3:57:23; 20) Tami Harmon 3:57:23; 21) Catalina Myers 4:00:01; 22) Marie Stevenson 4:01:08; 23) Janice Ritter 4:01:39; 24) Lesley Yamauchi 4:01:50; 25) Alice Hisamoto 4:02:33.

Men -- 1) Vin Robinson 2:56:14; 2) Joe Buckentine 2:57:16; 3) Jeff Arndt 3:01:33; 4) Edward Frank 3:03:25; 5) Thomas Burton 3:04:57; 6) Carlos Borgen 3:08:52; 7) Shannon Martin 3:18:28; 8) Leo Lashock 3:19:15; 9) George Bienusa 3:19:37; 10) Stephen Hibbs 3:21:38; 11) Eric Meier 3:22:26; 12) Samuel Herreid 3:22:53; 13) John Reed 3:23:48; 14) Scott Clemetson 3:23:49; 15) David Spooner 3:24:54; 16) Nathan Zeigler 3:24:59; 17) Bryan Baroffio 3:25:10; 18) Philip Hodge 3:25:36; 19) Kevin Taylor 3:26:14; 20) Ted Wu 3:26:54; 21) Stephen Peterson 3:27:50; 22) Chris Bronte 3:28:56; 23) Jon Kastar 3:29:01; 24) Greg Lincoln 3:34:00; 25) Josh Hedberg 3:37:14.

Skinny Raven half-marathon (13.1 miles)

Women -- 1) Gretchen Flora 1:27:24; 2) Jane Leblond 1:28:52; 3) Arianna Goldstein 1:29:50; 4) Ashley Mortenson 1:30:12; 5) Dorothy Shearn 1:33:36; 6) Jennifer Mahlen 1:36:24; 7) Michelle Baxter 1:36:36; 8) Jess Walsh 1:36:54; 9) Amy Dalton 1:36:56; 10) Jenn Blazejewski 1:37:10; 11) Polly Wirum 1:38:50; 12) Tina Hjeltman 1:39:19; 13) Jesse Stetson 1:39:31; 14) Mary Barrett 1:39:37; 15) Kathleen Dunbar 1:39:52; 16) Carrie Setian 1:40:01; 17) Polly Wheeler 1:41:20; 18) Anna Atkinson 1:42:18; 19) Meyoung Blum 1:42:24; 20) Kelsey Coolidge 1:43:24; 21) Claire Coppel 1:43:32; 22) Andra Love 1:43:36; 23) Jackie Minge 1:43:50; 24) Sarah Hunter 1:43:55; 25) Ellen Gans 1:43:55.

Men -- 1) Daniel Knappmiller 1:16:46; 2) Michael Adams 1:17:19; 3) Samuel Salus 1:17:41; 4) Tom Ritchie 1:17:55; 5) Lee Hall 1:19:31; 6) Jason Hofacker 1:19:45; 7) Adam Jackson 1:21:55; 8) Ryan Cox 1:22:37; 9) Levi Younger 1:23:04; 10) Joseph Marshall 1:23:52; 11) Noah Hagen 1:24:13; 12) Lloyd Raines 1:24:36; 13) Ian Hunter 1:25:05; 14) Joe Magellan 1:25:40; 15) Bryce Monaco 1:27:46; 16) Matt Gillis 1:28:20; 17) John Wirum 1:28:54; 18) David Minge 1:29:16; 19) Timothy Brower 1:29:35; 20) Greg MacDonald 1:30:30; 21) Tyler Morrison-Heat 1:31:25; 22) Brad Garland 1:31:48; 23) Jonathan Nicholson 1:32:08; 24) David Bradley 1:32:18; 25) David Robinson 1:32:44.

Snow City 5-K (3.1 miles)

Women -- 1) Amanda Scott 19:26; 2) Michelle Holland 22:08; 3) Anna Dalton 22:16; 4) Rachel Duffy 22:16; 5) Tracy Houser 23:05; 6) Meghan Frisbie 23:32; 7) Marilyn Gonzalez 23:34; 8) Marcy Werner 23:44; 9) Senovia Gallegos 24:32; 10) Megan Merrihew 24:34; 11) Angela Torgerson 24:53; 12) Cathy Duffy 25:13; 13) Jamie Krediet 25:22; 14) Heather Johnson 25:32; 15) Danielle May 25:36; 16) Caitlin McCutcheon 25:48; 17) Stephanie Baker 25:54; 18) Amy Blackwell 26:04; 19) Lorraine Fuhr 26:10; 20) Nicole Morilak 26:14; 21) Sara Rottman 26:32; 22) Emma Minge 26:32; 23) Amy Gillan 26:39; 24) Holly Carroll 27:00; 25) Molly McGee 27:03.

Men -- 1) Jason Potsander 18:58; 2) Bob Davis 19:15; 3) Maxwell Romey 20:06; 4) Josh Holland 20:09; 5) Gillean Szweda Mitt 20:27; 6) Mike Wahlig 20:36; 7) Ethan Zinck 20:38; 8) Josh Lous 20:54; 9) Ryan Tracy 20:55; 10) Thor Barker 21:05; 11) Guy Schwartz 21:10; 12) 3315 David Tracy 21:13; 13) David Valdes 21:24; 14) Quentin Reuer 21:28; 15) Sebastian Szweda Mi 21:51; 16) Kaleb Turner 21:54; 17) Israel Gallegos 21:54; 18) Frank Pleasant 22:01; 19) Joseph Pulfrey 22:25; 20) Stephen Fletcher 22:27; 21) Anthony Capo 22:27; 22) Francis Azzarella 22:36; 23) Billy Hall 23:04; 24) Ross Turner 23:16; 25) Karl Kile 23:22.

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